Chris Chibnall

Not a hate post at all. I enjoyed a lot of his episodes, but I'm confused why RTD is such a key figure in the Who fandom when Moffat made a lot more history and is, imo, a better writer. RTD has excellent science-fiction ideas and applies them to Who very well but what he is not the GREATEST at is overarching plotlines (the Bad Wolf thing that came out of nowhere) and series finales/resolutions (series 3 had an atrocious ending imo), and reuses a lot of concepts throughout his stories. Meanwhile, Moffat was able to successfully create an overarching arc for BOTH doctors 11 and 12 (the "question/tardis getting blown up/day of the doctor" thing). In addition, Moffat has also made a lot of memorable moments and characters, just as many as rtd. I've noticed a lot of RTD's flaws in the specials: he re-uses the concept of Midnight in WBY and the bi-generation thing wasn't even new at all- the meta-crisis had already happened and it was beyond evident that RTD wanted to get the most out of Tennant's return. Do NOT get me wrong: some of my favorite episodes in this show came out of RTD's mind- the beauty that was series 1 was excellent. However, the series 1 finale was rushed, series 2's was lazily conceived, series 3's was plain silly, and series 4's was fan-service- yet I can't really find a lot of people who will admit that RTD isn't an amazing writer

My question is: why doees the fandom love RTD so much? Yes, Moffat & Chibnall haven't written not-so-great episodes too (series 12, for example), but everyone praises RTD's episodes, even his not-well-written ones, while doing the opposite for the other writers. Just confused. Would love your thoughts!

To qualify for this list the writer must have at least five episodes to their name (sorry Cornell).

Mark Gatiss

1. The Unquiet Dead (9/10)

2. Empress of Mars (8/10)

3. Cold War (7/10)

4. Night Terrors (7/10)

5. The Idiot's Lantern (6/10) (not that bad actually)

6. Robot of Sherwood (5/10)

7. The Crimson Horror (5/10)

8. Victory of the Daleks (5/10)

9. Sleep No More (3/10)

Gatiss has an interesting style of writing but his episodes are pretty inconsistent overall. The simpler ones usually work way better for me because the simple plots allow some great character writing and thematic writing from Gatiss. The one most focused on plot and twists (Sleep No More) is then naturally his worst one and the simplest one focused more on atmosphere and character (The Unquiet Dead) is naturally his best one.

Toby Whithouse

1. A Town Called Mercy (8/10)

2. School Reunion (7/10)

3. The God Complex (6/10)

4. The Vampires of Venice (5/10)

5. Under the Lake (5/10)

6. Before the Flood (4/10)

7. The Lie of the Land (4/10)

I am generally not fond of Whithouse's work on the show. I think his episodes are usually generic, poorly plotted and forgettable. 'The God Complex' had a neat idea but really fumbled in the plotting department. 'School Reunion' only really worked because of the fan service that covered the very run-of-the-middle plot and it barely earns its 7/10 score. 'A Town Called Mercy' is really the only episode of his that doesn't fall for most of his problems as a writer, and I think it's a great episode, laregly due to the Doctor's character and my affinity for Western stories. Overall, not a fan of his episodes.

Gareth Roberts

1. Planet of the Dead (8/10)

2. The Shakespeare Code (7/10)

3. The Unicorn and the Wasp (7/10)

4. The Lodger (7/10)

5. Closing Time (6/10)

6. The Caretaker (5/10)

Roberts seems to specialize in much more comedic episodes and I think generally they're pretty good. I think the plots are usually nothing special, but they're usually a fun time. I think the reason 'Planet of the Dead' is my favourite of his is because he co-wrote it with Russel T Davies who definitely had a say in the plot and characters. 'The Caretaker' is his weakest simply because most of the comedy involving the Twelth Doctor didn't really work for me and felt out of character, so that episode suffers from series wide problems of Series 8. Not an exceptional writer, but his work is usually enjoyable.

Steven Moffat (Pre his era)

1. Blink (10/10)

2. The Girl in the Fireplace (10/10)

3. Forest of the Dead (9/10)

4. Silence in the Library (9/10)

5. The Empty Child (9/10)

6. The Doctor Dances (9/10)

Moffat's work before his own era is nothing short of exceptional. I think as a writer, Moffat works best with as little as possible. I think his era of Doctor Who really suffers from having too much plot, twists, characters and large events. He's an immensely talented writer, but he really overreaches his grasp when he has the chance. In the Davies era however, when given the job of writing an individual story that doesn't directly tie into anything, he can only cram so much into his episodes. And that's why these episodes work so well. Moffat is restrained from going too far. In his episodes in the Davies episodes, he strikes a perfect balance for the right amount of plot and twists and it works phenomenally. All of the episodes above are classic and for good reason. Moffat is a superb writer who just has an ego problem. But when he's controlled, he's amazing.

Chris Chibnall (pre his era)

1. Cold Blood (8/10)

2. 42 (8/10)

3. The Hungry Earth (8/10)

4. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (5/10)

5. The Power of Three (4/10)

Would you know it, Chibnall also had a pretty decent track record pre his era. Chibnall seems to have Moffat syndrome to the extremes. Great when he's under supervision, but once you give him control he completely messes up. By looking at these episodes, even the weaker ones, you can tell he really does love Doctor Who. I think the reasons some of these episodes work is because Chibnall is working with already realised, consistent characters. The weakest characters in those episodes are the characters Chibnall created for them, again showing that he is poor at writing characters. However unlike in his era, not only are the Doctor and their companions well written, but Chibnall knows not to focus on the bland side characters. He knows they're not interesting, and instead concentrates on just writing a Dcotor Who story. And most of the time, he succeeds for me. It's a shame he isn't ultimately a better writer, something that became clear during his era, but if he was never made a showrunner I think I would've liked it if he kept writing one off episodes.

Well that was interesting. Now I think I'll rank all of the listed episodes together to see how each writer compares to the rest.

1. Blink (10/10) (Steven Moffat)

2. The Girl in the Fireplace (10/10) (SM)

3. Forest of the Dead (9/10) (SM)

4. Silence in the Library (9/10) (SM)

5. The Empty Child (9/10) (SM)

6. The Unquiet Dead (9/10) (Mark Gatiss)

7. The Doctor Dances (9/10) (SM)

8. Cold Blood (8/10) (Chris Chibnall)

9. A Town Called Mercy (8/10) (Toby Whithouse)

10. Empress of Mars (8/10) (MG)

11. Planet of the Dead (8/10) (Gareth Roberts)

12. 42 (8/10) (CC)

13. The Hungry Earth (8/10) (CC)

14. The Shakespeare Code (7/10) (GR)

15. Cold War (7/10) (MG)

16. The Unicorn and the Wasp (7/10) (GR)

17. Night Terrors (7/10) (MG)

18. The Lodger (7/10) (GR)

19. School Reunion (7/10) (TW)

20. The God Complex (6/10) (TW)

21. The Idiot's Lantern (6/10) (MG)

22. Closing Time (6/10) (GR)

23. The Vampires of Venice (5/10) (TW)

24. Robot of Sherwood (5/10) (MG)

25. Under the Lake (5/10) (TW)

26. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (5/10) (CC)

27. The Crimson Horror (5/10) (MG)

28. Victory of the Daleks (5/10) (MG)

29. The Caretaker (5/10) (GR)

30. Before the Flood (4/10) (TW)

31. The Power of Three (4/10) (CC)

32. The Lie of the Land (4/10) (TW)

33. Sleep No More (3/10) (MG)

DISCLAIMER: If the review feels very negative to start, please stick it out I promise it's not all complaining. Also note that this is very, very long, but please try to read it all. Thanks.

I have to give Chibnall credit. This is probably his magnum opus. And by that I mean this is the most Chris Chibnall episode of all time and he wasn't even slightly apologetic. Every flaw, every problem previously seen in any Chibnall episode is not only in this episode, it takes front and center. There are no attempts here to tell a well written cohesive story, no. This episode is merely Chibnall throwing in every idea he possibly had for his last episode as showrunner and not giving a care in the world whether or not it works. This is his episode, after all.

Let's start with the dialogue, which here is just so exemplary of every problem Chibnall dialogue has. There are so many scenes here of characters spouting information, not to other characters, but TO THEMSELVES as a means of conveying that information to the audience. Once stook out enough, but it happens many times across the episode. On top of that, the dialogue itself is incredibly on the nose and lacking any subtlety whatsoever. Common Chibnall stuff.

The plot, however, is where things start to get interesting. Basically none of it works, and it all just exists as barely connected ideas that Chibnall wants in the story. Again, he doesn't care if it's cohesive or not. He's here to make this his story, his way. It's almost admirable just how far he sticks to that principle. The Master being Rasputin in 1916 literally adds nothing. He could've enacted his plan in the present day, but he doesn't. Why? Because Chibnall wants The Master to be Rasputin. That's it. Why the heck does the Master bother getting the Daleks on his side? He could've easily just used a similar ploy with the Cybermen to capture the Doctor, why bother with Daleks? Simple. Because Chibnall wants the Daleks in this episode. That's all. Cut them out completely and most of it wouldn't change, and the few parts that would you could easily rework.

A plot point in this episode is that the Master regenerates himself into the Doctor, not only because he is envious of the Doctor but because he wants to sour her name. Ok, cool. But there is no payoff. This is undone just as easily as it is done in the first place, and he doesn't do anything during the time he's the Doctor. Yaz just ditches him on an asteroid while she formulates a plan to take him down (which he falls for because Chibnall says so), comes back for him, enacts her plan, and beats him. There is no payoff whatsoever. He literally spends his entire time as the Doctor sitting on an asteroid before losing because Chibnall needs the Doctor back. But then again, the plot basically still had the Doctor throughout the brief period of time that the Master was the Doctor through the TARDIS AI. A perfect simulation of the Doctor that literally acts exactly like her and serves her purpose in the plot. Convenient. But then again, Chibnall needed the Doctor in the plot for the plot to 'work', but he also really wanted the Master to regenerate into the Doctor, even if nothing became of it. Limits? What's that? This is Chibnall's episode! He must have EVERYTHING he wants!

This episode seems like it's going for some interesting themes at first. Maybe it'll be about Yaz coming to terms about her feelings for the Doctor while knowing she isn't nearly her first companion. Maybe it'll explore the character of the Master and his envy of the Doctor. But nope, those themes and ideas are thrown away the second they start to show the tipsy tops of the hair on their heads. Chibnall can't bother with nuance, after all. Thasmin has no payoff whatsoever here. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ship, even though I appreciated its normalisation of LGBTQ+ relationships with the Doctor. But after how much it was built up to through 'Eve of the Daleks' and 'Legend of the Sea Devils', it feels really cheap to have no payoff at all. I'd even call it close to queer-baiting. Also, can we real quick touch on how Chibnall did hardly anything with the Timeless Child twist? Aside from its minor impact on Flux that could've been reworked, what was the point of this supposedly big twist again? WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHIB-!?

And yet.

And yet with all that said, I liked the episode.

...

I mean it. And it wasn't because of Chibnall's writing. No. It was because of his use of other people's work.

Let's start with the Master. Sacha Dhawan, who carries this episode on his bare shoulders, is amazing here. I always felt like he was holding back in previous episodes featuring him, but here he is allowed to go all loose and I love it. He's enjoying himself so much, and he brings the character's trademark insanity to a full front while mixing with his own charm as an actor. He acts leaps and circles around everyone else in the episode and is by far the best part. He was thouroughly entertaining to watch and almost made you forget how dumb his character's plan was. While he doesn't sell the drama quite as well as the insanity, he does that adequately enough where he always feels like he's dominating.

Madip Gill as Yaz also gives what is probably the best performance she's given in the show, She's nowhere near Dhawan's level, but she actually really tries. She elevates her material and actually manages to convey emotion when she isn't speaking, something Chibnall clearly had no input in. She manages to put more into her character here than is really there and I applaud her for it. Chibnall did nothing for her, and she gave us something. Jodie herself was also pretty good. Not on her best towards the beginning, but her performance really turned around as the episode went on and I think she really tried her best. I enjoyed her in this episode.

Now let's talk about the guest characters, which is a pretty mixed bag. I've actually not yet seen the seasons of Doctor Who that feature Ace and Tegan (I know, I know) but I still like the scenes where they talk to their versions of the Doctor. It was actually really well handled and it's something I genuinely applaud Chibnall here for. These aspects of the episode were clearly his focus, even if he trashed up the rest in order to do so. As for the performances of the two women, they were fine. They were given some really awful dialogue to deal with, but their acting also never impressed me. They showed some enthusiasm though, so that was good.

Vinder's actor clearly doesn't want to be here and I don't blame him. His character added close to nothing. Yaz could've literally just picked up a gun before coming back for the Master and that would've worked. Dan leaves in an awkward scene towards the beginning because apparently Chibnall didn't have room for him in the story. Never stopped him before, but whatever. He comes back in the ending anyway, so what was the point? I think it would've worked better if he left at the end of 'Legend of the Sea Devils', but whatever. I'm actually kinda shocked at how hard I smiled at Graham's appearance. He's by far the best character Chibnall has created and Bradley Walsh is by far one of the best actors the show has ever had. His performance elevates his material extraordinarily and he was a delight to watch. Weird that they couldn't get Ryan back though.

The cameos from the previous Doctors were nice. I wish they'd gotten some of the New Who ones as well. David Bradley is still a great First Doctor, and man did I love seeing Paul McGann. I love his radio stories so much and think he is an absolute delight. The Doctor's regeneration feels a little rushed, but it gets the job done. The climax is pretty well handled, all things considered, despite the terrible writing. I enjoyed the use of the 'Rasputin' song despite it being so on-the-nose. Ashad barely spoke and that was wonderful.

So that was 'The Power of the Doctor'. Did it stick the landing? I think so. I think that if it didn't feel like a Chibnall episode, it would be less satisfying. I'm glad he's no longer running the show, but after all, this era still happened, and I don't think we should forget about it, as bad as it was at times. As I said in the opener, this is the most Chibnall episode of all time. It wouldn't feel right if it was any other way.

But most importantly, even though Chibnall really didn't try in the writing of this episode, what he absolutely did do was try to make it enjoyable. And so did most of the people involved (except for Vinder). They all really tried their best to send off the era on a good note, and I applaud them. So overall, Chibnall kinda suceeded. Not through himself, but he did succeed in his goal. I had fun.

You can tell I really don’t like this era. Season 11 was bad, Season 12 was deeply mediocre and Flux was actually decent. The specials range from bad to atrocious.

1. Village of the Angels (7/10)

2. The Haunting of Villa Diodati (7/10)

3. The Halloween Apocalypse (7/10)

4. Survivors of the Flux (7/10)

5. Once Upon Time (7/10)

6. Spyfall Part 1 (7/10)

7. Demons of the Punjab (6/10)

8. The Woman Who Fell to Earth (6/10)

9. The Witchfinders (6/10)

10. Praxeus (6/10)

11. The Ghost Monument (5/10)

12. Rosa (5/10)

13. The Vanquishers (5/10)

14. Spyfall Part 2 (5/10)

15. Nicola Tesla’s Night of Terror (5/10)

16. Fugitive of the Judoon (5/10)

17. War of the Sontarans (4/10)

18. Arachnids in the UK (4/10)

19. The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos (4/10)

20. Revolution of the Daleks (4/10)

21. The Tsuranga Conundrum (4/10)

22. Resolution (3/10)

23. Ascension of the Cybermen (3/10)

24. Kerblam! (3/10)

25. The Timeless Children (3/10)

26. Legend of the Sea Devils (3/10)

27. It Takes You Away (2/10)

28. Orphan 55 (2/10)

29. Can You Hear Me? (2/10)

30. Eve of the Daleks (2/10)

I can not wait to write a review about why ‘Eve of the Daleks’ is embarrassing from a writing and creative perspective. People seem to like that episode and it confuses me to no end.

'Eve' of the Daleks is Chris Chibnall's third special on the show and considered by many to be the best, and one of the best episodes of his era in general. It also happens to be my opinion that this episode is absolutely pathetic in every way and the single worst episode of his era, and one of the worst episodes in all of Doctor Who.

Let's start with this; none of my problems with this episode have anything to do with Thasmin. I like LGBTQ+ representation, and while Thasmin probably shouldn't be a headlining couple I am totally fine with this aspect of the episode. Dare I say it was the part I enjoyed the most.

And now on to the trashy bits; the rest of the episode.

I don't like Chibnall as a writer. I think he's a good concept thinker, but he's willing to write anything just so the story can have what he wants. He's also really not good at characterization. But like I said, he's a good concept thinker. The ideas are usually the best parts of his episodes (save for the Timeless Child sweet lord). So is the idea behind the story any good here? No, not really. It's fine and all, but pretty generic. Time loop, have to escape it, yawn. Daleks again. Lots of noncencical running around (we will get to this later). Cute love story between the guest cast, snooze. Pretty basic stuff.

So does the episode find any ways to enhance this? No. It does the opposite. First of all, the main guest character in this (who I can't be bothered to remember the name of) is extremely unlikeable. The actress is fine, but the words put in her mouth are atrocious. I was actively rooting for her to get killed the whole time. The other dude was fine, if a little annoying. Dan and Yaz added practically nothing.

The writing stook out like a sore thumb for the vast majority of it. So the Daleks put a forcefield around the building, but they just forgot to put it over one of the exits? This definitely makes them look like a competent threat. In fact, this is the most insulting part of the whole episode. The way the Daleks are treated like utter buffoons. They attack without strategy, they scream all the time, they make decisions only anyone under the age of 4 would make; these are the scariest villains in Doctor Who? Here, they are rendered to any old dumb evil species. And let me emphasize on dumb. They are really, really stupid in this episode. They fall for an unbelievably obvious trap at the end that kills them all. They never try to anticipate the Doctor's next move and instead just bumble around the building trying to catch her.

On top of all this, the episode thinks their stupid too. It tries to turn them into comic relief at times, but to do so it makes them so incompetent it hurts. They miss people at point blank range in tiny corridors. Actually, that's what happens nearly every time they appear on screen. They chase the Doctor and crew through tiny corridors, shoot at them and miss. This isn't a nitpick either. Just watching the episode, it all looks wrong. It looks like the Daleks are missing on purpose, which is just a testament to how abysmally this episode is directed. Every time the Daleks are onscreen it's chase, shoot, miss. Nothing ever changes. Nothing even remotely creative happens. This is how all the action plays out. Not only does this make the episode really really stupid, it also makes it unbelievably boring and played out.

That's why this is my least favourite episode of the Chibnall Who. Not only is the writing and characterization abysmal, it's also one of the most boring and generic episodes in the entire catalog. Nothing is surprising, nothing is smart, nothing is entertaining. It is the definition of worthless. This is one of the most hollow 58 minutes I've experienced in my life. Truly Chris Chibnall's magnum opus; an episode that falls for all of his flaws and not one of his strengths.

I'd rather rewatch 'Love and Monsters'.

Enjoy

Just share your thoughts, what do you hope to see in the Fourteenth Doctor? Honestly I hope to see a sharp contrast to Jodie's Doctor, with a much sterner incarnation. Also I hope it's an actor/actress of color this time around. How about you all?

I just watched the first three episodes with Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. I honestly can’t say why I dislike her portrayal of the Doctor. The fact that she’s a woman might play into that, but I don’t want to seem sexist or anything. I think it has more to do with Moffat leaving because now the show doesn’t feel like Doctor Who. I really don’t like the cutaways between scenes and I’m not sure that the improvement of quality is a good thing. It might not be a popular opinion, but maybe I do prefer the Doctor as a guy. I’m a straight, 24 year old guy if that matters. I really don’t know. I’m going to watch more of her episodes, but the fact that I have to force myself to continue watching might not be a good thing. Give me your honest opinions about Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor and Chris Chibnall as the newer head writer.

The 13th Doctor was written by Steve Moffat or any of the other writers other than Chris Chibnall. I think it would be amazing! I love Jodie Whittaker as a doctor and with better writing and more carefully made plot lines, her doctor could be amazing!